One of the greatest, if not the best part of my chosen profession is that I get time off in the summer like teachers and school aged children. Since Greg and I are in transition (literally, between cities, jobs, houses), I have chosen to spend my summer break in Southern Illinois with my mom, dad, and brother. There may be more glamourous parts of the world to spend 4 weeks, but you can't beat staying in the country and living the idyllic life of eating garden vegetables and finishing a few novels, right? Close, but not quite.
While there is no doubt that I've picked wild blackberries, zucchini, and canned peach jam, a good-sized chunk of my time has been spent bringing my parents' kitchen into the 21st century. Sure, the maroon, blue, and gold flowered wallpaper was fashionable in the 90's, but today's styles lean more toward simple, clean, painted walls. So, after two years of talking about re-styling the kitchen walls, my long visit this summer was the *perfect* opportunity to jump in... and I mean into the deep end. Now, I can't complain about the 5 days devoted to the project (because I've certainly heard horror stories of longer projects), not to mention the additional day and visits to 11 different stores to find the curtains that by some grace or curse of God, my mother and I were both searching for. Well, we did find those curtains and after two weeks and consulting 3 different people, we picked the colors. Cornsilk yellow on the walls and a terracotta orange/corral-ish color on the soffet. So, we peeled paper, scraped glue, sealed the walls, painted the ceiling, and painted the walls. We still have yet to finish the light switch plates and we have yet to order the (new!) kitchen table, barstools, and extra-wide curtains, BUT, the parents are committed to the upgrades and we'll be finishing the project before we leave for Texas (and go WEST!). Other updates may include a new fridge and a computer table (to get the laptop, printer, and discs off of the kitchen table).
Now, before I make it seem like I am wasteful and obsessed with new appliances and furniture, it should be noted that my parents' fridge is 23 years old and their table is at least as old. I convinced my mom to consider dumping the fridge when I let her in on the fact that her old fridge isn't worth the energy it is sucking out of their wallets (and our natural resources). But, like mother like daughter, my mom doesn't like throwing things into the garbage. So, what luck when I found the address to a Wabash County Freecycle, which I will be posting some of their well-loved pieces. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/wabashcountyfreecycle/
While here, I've also celebrated birthdays (mine, dad's, and grandpa's), visited friends in St. Louis, caught up with friends and family, played taxi for my 13 year old brother, gone boating, finished one (short) memoir, and taken many walks on our chip and sealed lane (yes, lane, and don't even ask what my parents' physical address is, because I don't know).
So what, you may ask, about my beloved husband and usual partner in crime, housework, renovations, and vacations? Well, Greg is studying for the bar exam, which he takes a week from tomorrow. The only thing on his side is that since we are 1200 miles apart and he is living in a hotel for the month of July, he has significantly fewer distractions. I'm probably biased, but Greg demonstrates talent and skill with all of his endeavours, but nonetheless, please say a little prayer for him as he crams for THE BIG ONE.
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